South Routt’s Rodney Wilson takes job in Grand Junction after 8 years with group

That’s why he said it was a difficult decision to take a job in Grand Junction, but it was an opportunity he had to take. Wilson, the South Routt School Board vice president, has stepped down after eight years on the board.

Wilson is a 1982 graduate of Soroco High School, which his parents attended. His wife, Lori, and their daughters, Nichole and Amanda, also graduated from the high school. Even Lori’s grandfather graduated from Soroco.

Rodney Wilson was appointed to the School Board in March 2002 to fill the remainder of the District 7 term. Wilson was elected in 2003 and re-elected in 2007. His seat would have been up for election in November 2011.

“That’s a big loss,” Su­­perintendent Scott Mader said. “He’s got a lot of history in the district.”

In addition to Wilson’s support for Soroco schools, roots in the community and familiarity with the district, Mader said he had the support of his peers on the School Board and of the community.

“It’s going to be hard to fill his shoes,” Mader said.

Thinking back on his tenure Wednesday, Wilson said the biggest accomplishment was being able to replace the district’s antiquated coal boilers with a geothermal and wood pellet heating system in 2008. And despite the 2009-10 school year being the most difficult as the district worked to trim nearly $500,000 from its budget, he enjoyed his time on the board.

“That was one of the things about leaving,” Wilson said Wednesday by phone from Grand Junction. “Not only did I grow up there, but being an active School Board member, a deacon at my church and involved in other things in the community, having to walk away from that was tough.”

On Tuesday night, the School Board voted to accept Wilson’s resignation and appoint board member Joel Harris as vice president.

Mader said the district has 60 days by law to appoint a replacement for Wilson’s seat representing District 7, the west side of Oak Creek. School District Business Manager Dina Murray said anyone interested should drop off a letter to the district’s administrative offices, 305 S. Grant St. For more information, call the district office at 736-2313.

Wilson left his job as a salesman for Rexel in Steamboat Springs to become a purchasing agent for EC Electric Inc. in Grand Junction.

“Leaving Oak Creek, that is a tough thing,” he said. “But I still have my house, and I will always be able to come home.”